Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Boomers See
Mobile Ads As Turn-Off. While
a significant amount of ad dollars are being reallocated to digital, marketers looking to reach Baby
Boomers may be wise to stick with radio. A new report from eMarketer
shows Boomers do not respond well to mobile advertising on their smartphones.
According to the numbers, less
than 8% of the Boomer generation said they would likely purchase a product
advertised on their mobile phone, and only 5% want to receive ads on their smartphones.
Also, only 13.4% said they regularly used a mobile device to hunt for deals
while shopping. While advertisers face an uphill climb to reach Baby Boomers on
mobile devices, the demographic is easily accessible via broadcast radio.
According to Nielsen’s Q2 Total Audience Report, radio users age 50-64 spend a
staggering 68 hours, 46 minutes per month using radio—and likely hear plenty of
spots. Even if Boomers are generally accustomed to listening to terrestrial
radio, having grown up with the medium, they actually have embraced smartphone
technology. EMarketer estimates 59.3% of Americans have a smartphone and, among
Boomers, 64.4% of mobile phone users have a smartphone. In contrast, 90.2% of
mobile users ages 25-34—a.k.a., Millennials—own a smartphone. While Millennials
may be more likely to embrace digital technology, that doesn’t necessarily mean
they’re an easy target for advertisers. New research shows many adults 25-34
are using ad-blocking technology when viewing digital content—63% of Millennials
use ad-blocking software, according to a Moz and Fractl survey from July 2015.
Globally, 31% of Millennials blocked ads online, according to Q2 2015 data from
GlobalWebIndex. Respondents to the Fractl/Moz poll said they found some digital
ads were relevant, including retargeted ads, social media advertising and paid
search ads. Mobile ads, however, fared poorly, the report said.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

US Competitive
Info: Magazines Tumble, Debate Ads Rumble. Magazine newsstand sales continued their steady decline in
the first half of 2015, according to new figures from MagNet, reported by
MediaPost. Total volume of magazines distributed to wholesalers dropped 2.6% to
784 million units comparted to the first half of 2014. But the number of issues
sold had a steeper decline, tumbling 18.5% to 207.5 million. Dollar value of
magazine sales decreased 13.9% to $1.11 billion. One caveat noted by MagNet is
the new numbers may not be an apples-to-apples comparison due to the closing of
magazine distributor Source Interlink and the lack of figures from Barnes &
Noble. Still, no
turnaround is in sight for magazine newsstand sales. MagNet says
preliminary data for July and August point to sales falling further in the
second half. Meanwhile, the chord that Donald Trump has struck among voters is
reverberating for CNN
ad sales. The cable news
network is asking for 40 times its normal rate for a 30-second spot during the
next Republican debate. CNN is charging up to $200,000 for a :30 during
the top-tier debate, compared to the $5,000 it typically charges for a
primetime spot. Ad Age says that puts the debate ad rates on par with those
charged by broadcast primetime series. Even the debate among lower ranking
candidates will fetch $50,000-$60,000 per spot, according to Ad Age. The
audience delivered by the first Republican presidential debate has primed the
pump for CNN. The August 6 debate drew 24 million viewers to Fox News, making
it the most-watched nonsports event in cable TV history.

TORONTO (September
1, 2015) – Top NHL Draft picks Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel
face off in EA SPORTS™ NHL® 16 during a special sneak preview of the game
featured exclusively on TSN platforms. Coverage of McDavid battling Eichel for
NHL® 16
bragging rights will be featured today on SPORTSCENTRE and TSN.ca in advance of the game’s release
on September 15, 2015.

“Working with EA SPORTS™ was a natural partnership for
us,” said Ken
Volden, Vice-President
and Executive Producer, Studio Production and News and Information, TSN. “The
opportunity to feature two of the brightest young stars in the game, playing
the hottest video game on the market was a no-brainer. This is the type of
authentic content we love to bring our fans.”

In addition
to TSN teaming up with EA SPORTS™, RDS will be showcasing the French-language
LE CHALLENGE HOCKEY RDS EA SPORTS™, which features 16 NHL players going
head-to-head in an NHL® 16 tournament. The 18-episode series begins in
December 2015 and culminates with the winner earning $20,000 for the charity of
their choice (visit RDS.ca
for more information).